One year after trade, Drew Pomeranz has settled in

Thursday

Jul 13, 2017 at 6:20 PM

Tim Britton Journal Sports Writer timbritton

BOSTON — Exactly one year after the controversial trade that brought him to Boston, what do you think of Drew Pomeranz now?

Pomeranz's 365 days with the Red Sox have included a decade's worth of theatrics. San Diego's chicanery with the left-hander's medical records led to a debate over whether the trade should be — or should have been — rescinded. The team refused to outline what medical issues Pomeranz himself was dealing with, leading to increased scrutiny and speculation. He pitched inconsistently as a starter down the stretch before allowing a backbreaking home run in the deciding game of the Division Series.

He underwent stem-cell treatment in the offseason to fix whatever ailed his elbow — a procedure that shortened his winter and contributed to his slow start this season.

Now, however, Pomeranz has emerged from that drama more comfortable in New England and more comfortable on the mound. And thus, a Red Sox team that traded for Pomeranz in hopes he could replicate his All-Star first half in San Diego may have gotten something even more.

"There was a lot going on," Pomeranz said last weekend at Tampa Bay, chuckling. "All the other teams I've been on have been lower markets. There's just not as much attention. Here you can't do anything that goes unnoticed.

"I was trying to focus on my job and not worry about all the other stuff."

Late May appears to have been a critical turning point for Pomeranz. The offseason work on his elbow limited what he could work on over the winter, meaning he had to use his abbreviated spring training and the first month or so of the season "to combine working on things while still trying to pitch well," he said.

"I knew what I needed to do, and I think I've finally gotten settled in," he said. "These last two months, I've honed in more on the pitcher I need to be successful here, repeatedly."

Over his last nine outings, the lefty owns a 7-2 record and 2.60 ERA. He believes his success now is more sustainable than it was just last year in San Diego.

As a Padre, Pomeranz said he could be "one-dimensional." He threw a lot of four-seam fastballs to his glove-side and a lot of curveballs to his glove-side. Sometimes he'd mix in a cutter — to his glove-side.

"There's so many reports these days that I feel like you can get away with it for a first half or a year maybe," Pomeranz said. "But they're going to catch on sooner or later."

Pomeranz watched closely during the final few months last year, focusing on the various ways David Price — himself early in his career a more predictable pitcher — could beat an opponent.

"David Price is so good because he can do everything. And yeah, I was having success, but I can't do that," said Pomeranz, recalling his mindset last season. "I should probably figure out a way to do that if I want to go to the next level."

For Pomeranz, that meant learning to throw his four-seamer and curveball to both sides of the plate. It meant learning how to spot his changeup and a two-seam fastball more consistently on his arm-side, and then to complement those pitches with a backdoor cutter the way Jon Lester did for years in Boston. It meant creating east-west X-marks on the corners of the plate to go along with his success changing eye levels on hitters through his trademark curveball.

"Being able to move everything — all pitches to all sides of the plate — it just makes things a lot easier for you," he said. "They can't cancel things out."

Take Pomeranz's last start against Tampa Bay, for instance. In it, he threw a total of 15 curveballs — his fewest in a start since his rookie season in 2012. Instead, he pitched predominantly with his four-seam fastball, mixing in a few cutters and a handful of changeups. Even throwing just three changeups — a day after his start, Pomeranz could recite the exact breakdown of his pitchers from the night before — allowed the lefty to keep opposing hitters just off-balance.

"Not only is he feeling good physically, he's beginning to trust his fastball a little more," manager John Farrell said. "He's been a stabilizer over the past two months in the rotation."

"The impressive thing about Drew is that he's been able to successfully deal with some of the best lineups in baseball," assistant pitching coach Brian Bannister said. "I honestly believe that on any given day, regardless of how deep into the game he goes, he can handle any lineup in baseball. He's got that elite upside."

"I feel good about the things that I've worked on and things I've done to get ready for this year," Pomeranz said. "Now I'm just focused on keeping those things mentally in my head and coming out to repeat it in the second half."

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